Ashes… Ashes.

Ashes.

Everywhere, there was only ashes around. It was clearly supposed to be a forest, as you could see the tree-shaped ashes all around and the charred grass.

But everything was burning down, as if the fury of a god of fire had struck onto this part of land, turning the ground into a carpet of ashes. But it was no god.

It was a man.

A young man, if you want to be more specific.

All around him were bodies of beasts, now dead, scorched black with their remains still releasing steam in the air.

He sat on a corpse burned to death, cross-legged, his hair ignited with orange fire that seemed — with the blinding light of the sun above — to flutter like flames in a dark night.

His eyes were black, something flickering as if hiding something harrowing inside. He wore luxurious red clothes with black threads weaved into a symbol.

A symbol anyone in the empire would recognize.

It was the symbol of the FireBorn. And this young man was none other than Kenan FireBorn.

The one who loved Meris.

His eyes seemed lost in memories as he recalled those times. His hand on his chin as he remembered the girl who had turned his life upside down and now disappeared.

Months had passed since that day. That day when he foolishly challenged a Warborn heir for the heart of a girl.

A girl who couldn't actually give a damn about him.

He was aware of that. He knew Meris didn't love him. He damned knew it.

But he still wanted to prove to her, or maybe to himself… that he was worthy of her love.

Or maybe the fact… that he was simply worthy of being loved.

It was weird for an heir to say things like this. To wonder if he was loved or not, considering how his mother doted on him, and how his father — even if stern and strict — actually showed him some affection.

Well… only if he did well in training. But let's not mind those details.

At that time he was simply an idiotic child, with the burden of his family heavy on his frail and weak-willed shoulders.

He wanted an escape. A window of relief.

Something that would help him forget all those duties, all those expectations people had for him. He wanted something — or rather someone — that would love him, Kenan.

Meris was that someone for him.

Unfortunately, it was not meant for him.

He tried all he could and even went as far as humiliating himself and his house for her love. Hell, he only wanted her attention.

But all of that for naught.

Meris didn't even glance at him.

It shattered him into pieces.

How could it not?

This was all he wanted. And he believed deep inside his heart that he just needed Meris to get out of his situation. To feel alive again, to want, to expect more, to live more.

He believed she would be his savior.

That she would be his light in this wretched world.

But fate had other plans. He didn't obtain her.

It was devastating for Kenan. But in that process he understood something fundamental about life. After being beaten senseless by his father, of course.

What you wish for is not, by default, what you need.

Though, realizing this truth didn't make it any easier for him to forget about Meris.

But with the help of his mother's soft advice, his father's stern gaze, Kenan managed to take hold of himself before sinking deeper into the pit known as Meris Elamin.

His mind was consumed with training. His father was not happy to see him go against a Warborn, so his training became daunting, became hell on earth.

He made him train with a core body temperature of 38 degrees Celsius. He was swimming in his sweat, his heart was beating way faster, seemingly aware of a life-threatening danger.

It wasn't all. Since that moment, his father never stopped telling him some weird words. Words he didn't understand.

"Ashes… ashes, Kenan. Become ashes. You have to."

He repeated these words every damn time. During training, dueling, dinner time or even during night walks.

It was so much… so overwhelming that Kenan now used ashes almost in his every sentence.

He sighed.

"Ashes you father… now see what I have become." He muttered, shaking his head.

Now he was different. His posture was straighter. His eyes more focused. His mind less clouded by useless thoughts, by useless dream of life without burden.

He understood his role better. And whether he liked it or not, he was the heir of the FireBorn.

He had to live up to its name. To its legacy. He had to bear the weight of it. It was heavy, it was crushing. He didn't want to be afraid.

But he was.

Still, he had to bear it. That was his duty.

Kenan sighed wistfully, steaming away his fear and worries of the future as he looked around the burning forest.

"With this, I have completed my quest." He murmured, then stood up from the dead body of the monster.

He dusted his hands nonchalantly, took the origin core of the beasts sprawling on the ground and walked away.

'Ashes… ashes…'

He thought.

…

Asterion — The Tycoon's Merchant.

The Tycoon's Merchant hadn't changed. The interior design was the same as the last time Kaden came here, and the people working there were also the same.

Meaning, Lisa Ndiaye was there with her usual professional smile that brightened the hearts of these hardworking men and women.

Still, the moment Kenan entered the room, Lisa's brown eyes locked onto his black ones and immediately her smile melted down like ice on fire.

The people inside the waiting hall looked behind and found Kenan with all his glory, walking directly towards Lisa.

Whispers started.

"Hey, Ash is here!" one guy nudged his friend, jerking his chin toward Kenan.

"Ah, damn it dude. Lisa will be in a bad mood now. She was especially sweet today! She even asked me about my leg injury!" one grumbled under his breath.

"I'm telling you all, let's ban this Ash."

All of them started to complain about the presence of Ash — the nickname of Kenan because of his habit of always adding ashes into his sentences.

Kenan barely cared about those whispers. For him, all of this might as well be ashes scattered by the whipping wind.

He approached the newly free counter where Lisa was, but she scowled at him without any restraint.

"Did I not tell you I will not take care of your quest results anymore?" she spat, clearly angry at Kenan.

The man smiled awkwardly, "Ashes… I told you I am sorry," he said, scratching his head nervously.

No one acted surprised at this sight.

They were used to seeing Kenan not only as the heir of FireBorn, but also as the Ash simp of Lisa.

But they were wrong. Kenan was not simping over Lisa, he just wanted her forgiveness.

'Ashes, you grandpa Albert… all of this because of your ashed advice.' He cursed silently, still looking at Lisa who didn't even bother to respond to him.

He sighed inwardly.

He had accepted his grandpa's advice and decided to have numerous girls at his belt in order to forget one girl.

He was confident at the beginning. He was handsome. He was talented. He was rich. He had a deep and powerful background.

Honestly, there was no reason for him to fail. And it was true. That is, if he wasn't unlucky enough to go directly towards Lisa, who held a hidden scorn for him because of how useless he was to even keep Meris off from Kaden.

She still didn't swallow that incident down. She became a lowly slave, after all. All because of some incompetent young master.

She knew she was wrong putting all the blame on Kenan. But besides him, who else could she blame?

Meris? God forbid, she actually held her life very dear.

Kaden? He was innocent. In fact, Lisa even pitied him for being the one to receive the love of a woman like Meris. She was crazy.

No, she was even more than that. The world didn't know how merciless, emotionless and utterly devoid of any morality Meris could be.

She was a monster.

An abomination who kept a tight leash on her sinister side for unknown reasons.

At least, to her.

All of this to say… Kenan was the outlet of her anger, of her frustration. And she made sure to show it to him.

Especially since Kenan was so easygoing now. He had shed any semblance of nobility when acting with ordinary people.

They noticed. So they became bold with him.

Kenan didn't mind.

'All of this is useless… ashes… only ashes. But what the fuck is ashes…?'

He shook his head.

"Here, I completed the quest," Kenan said, giving the origin core he obtained along with the instruction of the quest itself for proof.

Lisa took it with a growl and did her job.

Kenan watched her calmly, then parted his lips to speak but…

"I don't know." Lisa briskly said, cutting him off.

"You don't even know what I was going to say." Kenan retorted.

"I know. You were going to ask about where Lady Meris is," she said, then lifted her head from the document to stare at him. "And I don't know, Ash."

Kenan's lips twitched slightly at his nickname.

He didn't quite like it. But he knew it was useless to complain, these guys would never stop once they started. And he didn't want to use his background to bully anymore.

"No, I was not asking about her," Kenan finally responded.

Lisa tilted her head in a mix of surprise and confusion. Kenan smiled and continued his words,

"I wanted to invite you for a date." His voice was unnaturally loud. As if the world itself wanted him to be heard.

Silence fell instantly.

The men sighed ruefully, cursing Kenan under their breath.

"Man… this guy never learns, does he?"

The women's reactions were different. They looked at Lisa with venomous jealous eyes. If their glares could do more than stare, then Lisa would have been on the ground spasming with poison in her heart.

Fortunately, they couldn't.

But none of this registered in Lisa's mind as her face twisted into a ferocious snarl. She parted her lips…

"I would buy you whatever you want." Kenan added, his tone suddenly confident.

…Lisa shut her mouth with a snap, as if afraid a fly might enter her mouth.

Lisa was a gold digger.

And he had gold, in abundance.

Kenan smirked.

'Now I see it, we make a perfect ashed match.'

What a simp.

—End of Chapter 226—

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